Special Libraries Association – Illinois Chapter
Executive Board Meeting
June 18, 2007
4:00 – 6:00
Duff & Phelps
311 S. Wacker Dr., Suite 4200
Attendees: Jane Candela, Ramona Howerton, Laura Ikens, Karen Krupka, Bonnie Tilton Sebby,
Nancy Smith (via teleconference)
President Ramona Howerton called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM.
Motion to approve the agenda was brought forward by Bonnie S. and seconded by Karen K. Motion carried.
1. President’s Comments
The President shared her reactions to the 2007 SLA Conference and the Leadership meeting she attended that discussed membership issues
2. Approval of Minutes
It was unanimously decided to table the approval of the May 2007 meeting minutes until next Board meeting.
3. Committee Reports
Laura Ikens: Programs, Meeting Arrangements, Book Club, SLA Cares
Laura I. noted that she received the membership list sent by Jane C.
The Annual Business Meeting will be a luncheon. Plans are moving forward for either September 6 or September 12.
Gary Price is confirmed speaker for Tuesday, October 2 meeting. Venue is the Union League Club.
Laura reiterated that SLA-IL and library systems are joining forces in planning a one-day conference, Nov 2, 2007. SLA President Janice LaChance is booked as keynote speaker. The conference will “piggyback” on our Chapter meeting of Nov 1 and will be held at the Oak Brook Marriott.
Laura I. also commented on a conversation with Anne Seidel regarding the screening of the movie, “Hollywood Librarian.” It will be screened during Banned Books week (late September.) She also discussed a suggestion regarding our plan to screen the film in conjunction with the November 1 meeting. Laura is in process of securing a speaker for the November meeting as well.
Karen K. reported feedback she had received at the Denver Conference regarding meeting dates. Some members have indicated a need for earlier announcements concerning Chapter meetings as they must plan further ahead in order to attend meetings.
Susan Chenoweth: Archives, Awards, Nominating Committee
(no report)
Karen Krupka: Treasurer’s Report
Karen K. reported that the May 2007 Chapter meeting yielded a profit of $595.00
The Chapter has now met our yearly budget for sponsors.
The “pooled fund” administrated by HQ is growing at an encouraging rate.
Karen K. also questioned the Board regarding a former discussion of a Treasurer’s P.O. box. It was determined that the box’s location will depend upon what is convenient for the next Treasurer’s location.
Bonnie Tilton Sebby: Discussion List, Informant, Chapter Website, KM
Bonnie S. reviewed what Discussion List MonitorMaria Arcos indicated are next steps in the division of the discussion lists. These are:
- 1) Matching of Prairienet list and SLA-IL member list.
- 2) Confirm what email address each member wishes to use for the new system if not readily apparent. The naming conventions sometimes make this difficult.
- 3) Confirming policies as to what types of posting are appropriate to each list.
- 4) Collaborating with SLA-HQ’s technical services to create the lists and properly load the updated information.
Karen K. questioned if there are policy guidelines stated in the Recommend Practices.
This was verified.
It was determined that the “open list” would consist of meeting announcements and events. The “closed” or “members only” list would contain the actual discussion list, needs and offers, and any other premium content.
Bonnie S. also reported that Michelle Mayes (Citadel Investment Group) has agreed to assist Webmaster Katrina Perez in maintaining the Chapter website. They are discussing how best to collaborate in this initiative.
Bonnie S. also indicated that she is continuing to gather Chapter history to begin posting on the website. It was suggested that she contact the Past Presidents for contributions.
Action item: Laura I. will consult other listserv owners about their posting policies and forward any best practices from them.
Jane Candela: Membership & Vendor Relations
Jane C. reported that Janet Hartmann and Maureen Malinowski have now been added to the SLA Board’s CoP.
Beth Arthur has now become active in exploring meeting sponsorships.
Jane C. also reported that Buzzy Basch is the confirmed sponsor of the September meeting. Jane has also reached out to other potential meeting sponsors such as InfoCurrents and indicated that additional vendors are slated to be contacted within the next month.
Action item: Jane C. will explore the SLA-HQ website for ideas to generate new members.
Nancy Smith: Diversity, Public Relations, Student Outreach
Nancy S. reported that she has received no communication from Scott Marriott regarding student sponsorship.
Action item: Nancy will learn if Scott intends to underwirte student fees for Chapter meetings next year.
Regarding the video conferencing of future meetings, Laura I. is consulting with the Union League Club about their video conferencing capabilities. Nancy also needs to know what meetings are being considered for video conference. Nancy S. also indicated that Rockford’s closest VC node is Sycamore.
Karen K. noted that when Former President-Elect Priscilla Stoltz signed the Chapter for the SLA Virtual Learning series and arranged for video conferencing, the attendance was minimal. Nancy S. remarked that we need to develop this alternative, and balance which platform works for what type of presentation. She also suggested that this initiative might be a good fit for pursuing LSTA grant funds. Preliminary exploration should commence in February 2008. Bonnie S. volunteered to explore the grant proposal process in the spring.
Action item: Nancy S. will review the Chapter’s membership list and determine the volume of people in her region potentially impacted by video conferencing Chapter meetings.
Action item: Bonnie S. will explore the LSTA grant funding process and consult with Nancy S. about the proposal.
4. Old Business
Ramona H. noted that the SLA Fellows are now designated as mentors for the Chapters. Jan Chindlund is the most recent Fellow named from the Illinois Chapter. We will approach her about mentorship.
Action Item: Ramona H. will request a list of Fellows from HQ and inquire if Chapter mentors must be officially affiliated with a particular Chapter, or if they can mentor other Chapters as well.
The Board discussed possible recommendations to the Nominating Committee for the positions of President-Elect, Treasurer, and 1st Year Director.
Action item: All Board members will consider potential candidates and report back to the group via the CoP.
Laura I. sent the link to the Membership Survey to the Board.
Action item: The survey is ready and Laura I. will deploy the survey for the members to complete.
5. New Business
The topic of Chapter membership was under discussion.
Ramona H. reported on information learned from a Leadership meeting at the Denver Conference. Among those items:
- 1) Jill Calabria has the lapsed m embers list
- 2) There is a Membership CoP which should be a useful tool.
- 3) Membership only content on Chapter websites is encouraged. Sites can be password protected so that premium content is a member privilege only.
Action item: Bonnie S. will consult Katrina as to the feasibility of sections of the Illinois site being gated.
Several suggestions on increasing membership were fielded.
- 1) Establish membership goals or target numbers. In connection with this, could we provide a premium for those who bring in new members? Or perhaps, might we host a contest? Rules would be established for either of these initiatives.
- 2) Personally tap members for specific duties. A phone call is better than email.
- 3) Host a “thank you” event. Why not utilize the Holiday Party to show appreciation for individuals that give extra time and energy toward the Chapter. Individuals to be celebrated could be informed ahead of the party.
- 4) Why not create a list? All Board members should develop their own “thank you” list, and request that Committee Chairs do this as well.
- 5) Past Board members should be designated at Chapter meetings with a ribbon, pin, or other identifying marker.
- 6) In order that those attending meetings and events know the leadership team, the Board should post their pictures on the Chapter website.
Action item: Bonnie S. will create the CoP thread for listing those to be designated with a “thank you” at the Holiday Party.
Action item: Jane C. will find out who is the Dominican University liaison to the Illinois Student Chapter.
On another membership-related topic, Ramona H. reported observations from the Denver Conference. Some Chapters had developed “welcome packets” for their members and included designated markers (pins, ribbons, name tags, etc.) to identify their Chapter affiliation. In the past, the Illinois Chapter had a “stick-on” identifier for Conference badges.
Action item: Karen K. will investigate identifiers for the Illinois Chapter members to display at the Conference.
The topic of the Chapter budget was discussed.
Karen K. indicated that it was not comfortable to begin the new Chapter year without an approved budget. The policy of the budget is developed by the incoming committee. However, the outgoing committee needs to provide their guidance for the new budget. Karen K. suggested that we have the incoming and outgoing Budget Committees collaborate.
We should have budget requests for the new Chapter year in by November 15, 2007. Then, the recommendations to the Budget Committee, based on the Committee Chairs and Board members should be in by January 14, 2008. The Board will then have until the January 28, 2008, meeting to review before voting on the new budget. After discussion, the Board decided to pursue this procedure.
6. Next Board Meeting
The next Board meeting is scheduled for July 23, 2007, at Duff & Phelps, at 4:00 PM.
7. Meeting pulse: 4.5
The president called for a motion to adjourn. Karen K. moved that the meeting be adjourned; Laura I. seconded. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 6:01 PM.
